L.A. Beat

New York City’s Audio Fiction have become a lot more melancholy on their latest Ep “Worlds Apart. ” Thematically it carries on from their last self-titled CD, so there are a lot of break -up songs. They have moved away form more punk-pop influenced power pop music to more majestic, layered, more progressive rock style  pop numbers.
 They begin the new EP with the title track “Worlds Apart,” which is powered by an ominous guitar riff reminiscent of Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of 17.”
Kristin Wilson still has magnificent, majestic vocals reminiscent of a more depressed No Doubt mixed with Garbage mixed with a touch of Siouxie and the Banshees.
The next track “Are We Done Now,” is powered by a spooky fingerpicked acoustic guitar.  A big, loud crunching guitar riff and harmonized guitar solo appear midway through the track.
 Their Blondie influence plus a touch of ska comes through on a slightly more uptempo track “Lying Awake,” on which Wilson shows off her vocal range.
There is a lot going on here with a variety of guitar solos and sounds plus subdued keyboards.
“Finally,” is another majestic pop opus.
 They end with a very cool Platinum Blonde style ’80s guitar riff from guitarist Charles Park which kicks off  “Dead To Me.” He plays a tasteful solo, whihc stands out.
 It is another slower number on which Wilson wails “Don’t give me a heartache, I have all I need,” which sums up the theme of the whole CD.
Overall the new EP is somewhat of a departure from their power-pop/ punk roots which show the band continuing to develop their sound.
CD: Worlds Apart
Band: Audio Fiction
Genre: pop/ rock